India sees slight dip in daily Covid-19 cases at 40,715, tally over 11.68 mn

India reported 40,715 cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), lower than infections recorded in the last two days, and 199 related deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union minister of health and family welfare said on Tuesday. The fresh infections and deaths have pushed the country’s infection tally to over 11.68 million and the death toll has now risen to 160,166. The surge in infections comes ahead of India’s first anniversary of the start of a stringent nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19. A year later, the pandemic is far from over and several countries, including India, are experiencing another wave of coronavirus disease.

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There were 345,377 active cases and 11,181,253 people who have recovered from the viral disease, the health ministry’s data updated at 8am showed. The health ministry’s data also showed the active caseload now comprises 2.96 per cent of the total infections and the national recovery rate is down at 95.67%.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said 23,54,13,233 samples tested for Covid-19 up to Monday and of these, 967,459 samples were tested the same day.

The health ministry said on Monday that Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are reporting a surge in the daily cases of coronavirus disease They together account for 80.5% of the new cases registered in the last 24 hours, it added.

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The health minister of Maharashtra, the worst-hit in the country, Rajesh Tope on Monday said people must follow Covid-19 safety protocols if the state is to avoid another lockdown. Tope told reporters that chief minister Uddhav Thackeray thinks lockdown may become necessary in some cities if the new Covid-19 cases continue to climb. "I appeal people to respond to CM's warning (about possibility of lockdown) positively and follow the Covid-19 protocols such as mask wearing, hand hygiene and physical distancing to avoid lockdown," Tope said, according to news agency PTI.

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Tope also defended the state's response to rising cases of coronavirus disease and pointed out that many states have fared worse in terms of cases per million population.

The state saw a drop in daily count as it recorded 24,645 Covid-19 cases on Monday, a day after reporting the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of coronavirus disease.

Its caseload increased to 25,04,327 and there were 58 fatalities related to Covid-19, taking the death toll to 53,457.